MS 9747 comprises material relating to books by Hugh Clarke; material relating to other writing by Clarke; "writing files" that include correspondence; and, photographs. The papers document Clarke's experiences a a prisoner of war, his creative output and his books on Japan, the Great Depression and the Northern Territory (8 boxes).

Biography/History

Hugh Clarke was born and grew up in Brisbane. During World War II Clarke saw services in Malaya and at the fall of Singapore was made a prisoner of war. He worked on the Burma-Thailand railway and was one of few to survive this work. He came to Canberra after the war to join the survey section of the Department of the Interior. Clarke wrote many short stories and articles about his wartime experiences. In 1957 he was appointed Publications Officer of the Department of Territories, and later Director of Information and Publicity. He also worked in Papua New Guinea. After Papua New Guinea became independent he became Director of Information and Publicity for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Clarke's books include: The tub (1963), The long arm: a biography of a Northern Territory policeman (1974), The broke and the broken: life in the Great Depression (1983), and Twilight liberation (1985).

Notes

Manuscript reference no.: MS 9747.

Source of Acquisition

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Patricia Clarke.

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Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. All users of the catalogue should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.